Crime Drops Since NYPD Takeover of School Security

Crime has dropped in the New York City public schools since the New
York Police Department took over security for the board of education,
according to police statistics.

In the 15 months since the NYPD began managing the system's 3,300
school security officers, few of the concerns registered about the
changeover appear to have materialized.

Two of the most vocal groups that had been worried about the
arrangement—the New York Civil Liberties Union and the New York
state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People—have been mostly silent and say they have done
little monitoring since the takeover.

But "the jury is still out," said Jim Baumann, the director of
school safety for the United Federation of Teachers.

In 1998, the city's central board of education agreed to the new
arrangement after the mayor and school leaders agreed that transferring
control to the police department would improve school security.

Civil rights groups and many educators opposed the measure. Some
feared the creation of a hostile environment in the schools. Others
worried that the school security officers, under the auspices of the
police department, would usurp the authority of school
administrators.

The police department set up meetings with leaders of school
communities to reassure them that police-trained security personnel
would not encroach on their authority. And, for the most part, they
have not, said Assistant Chief James H. Lawrence, the commanding
officer of the school safety division for the New York Police
Department.

The administrators have the same authority as they did before, Chief
Lawrence said. "We're really like a last resort."

Change in Attitude?

While New York's school security officers are now called agents,
much about the school security force has remained unchanged.

The police department embarked on training just before the new year
to familiarize the school agents with the NYPD's operations and
procedures. Ongoing training is planned for the winter, spring, and
summer recesses.

Edward Reynolds, the principal of West Side High School in
Manhattan, had predicted that police in schools would cause real
problems, but those troubles haven't arisen, he said.

"There haven't been a lot of changes," said Mr. Reynolds, who heads
an alternative school with about 700 students. In fact, he has tried to
use the takeover to break down stereotypes harbored by some of his
students that all police are bad, and by some police officers that all
teenagers are bad.

But the officers are not as friendly as they once were, said Charyl
Poindexter-Curry, a dean at West Side High. She said the mentality is
to arrest a student rather than pull him or her aside and offer a
reprimand.

"The attitudes are little more punitive," she said.

Data Discrepancies

Based on numbers compiled by the police department, between last
July and this month, crimes such as assault, burglary, and weapons
possessions are down by nearly 30 percent. Other infractions, such as
disorderly conduct, loitering, and harassment, have dropped by at least
10 percent.

According to the teachers' union, an American Federation of Teachers
affiliate, the number of unsafe public schools in New York City and the
number of violent incidents involving teachers and other educators
dropped during the 1998-99 school year. The total incident rate
involving UFT members fell 19.5 percent, but assaults increased by
nearly 15 percent, the union says. In large part, Mr. Baumann of the
UFT believes, the discrepancies are due to the different ways in which
the police and union define and categorize crime.

For example, even though a bona fide assault has occurred, it won't
show up that way on the police blotter if no complaint was filed or no
charges were pressed, Mr. Baumann said. "Either you don't get accurate
reporting [by not filing a complaint] or you further criminalize
students [if you do]," he said.

Moreover, overall crime in schools is down nationwide. So it is hard
to say whether the drop in school crime can be attributed to the NYPD
takeover, Mr. Baumann said.

Both Chief Lawrence and Mr. Baumann acknowledge the problem of
differing statistics and say they are trying to work it out.

"We need to find a way to reconcile data so that everyone is on the
same page," Mr. Baumann said.

Chief Lawrence said his department has found a way to reconcile its
data with the board of education's, but not the union's. "We should all
be working toward the same goal," he said.

Agents Added

The UFT recently called on the city to add 1,000 new school safety
officers to the payroll, citing a recent rash of attacks on its
teachers.

In response, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani approved the hiring of 900
new officers for next school year. The new crop of prospective security
agents will face much more thorough background investigations than were
undertaken prior to the NYPD takeover.

Many of the newly hired officers will be placed in grade schools and
be used to back up agents in schools in high-crime neighborhoods,
truancy operations, and schools that are difficult to secure with
limited personnel, Chief Lawrence said.

While the union appreciates the expertise and sense of
professionalism the NYPD has brought to the school security officers,
Mr. Baumann said, it is still too early to tell just what impact the
changes have had.

Chief Lawrence agreed. "This is a work in progress,'' he said.
"We're still working our way through, trying to come up with that
perfect chemistry."

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